ASU may revoke Cronkite Award from Charlie Rose in wake of sexual-harassment allegations

The news comes just one day after a Washington Post article in which several women accused Rose of making unwanted advances.
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Longtime television journalist Charlie Rose is the latest celebrity to be added to a growing list of men accused of sexually harassing or assaulting women they have worked with.(Photo: Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press)

Arizona State University is considering revoking an award given to broadcast journalist Charlie Rose in the wake of allegations that he sexually harassed several women.

ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication issueda statement late Monday afternoon calling the reports "deeply troubling" and convened a committee to discuss the issue this week.

A decision could come as early as Friday, when the Cronkite Endowment Board of Trustees plans to meet, Christopher Callahan, dean of the Cronkite school and Arizona PBS chief executive officer, said on Tuesday.

The possible rescission of the award comes after a Washington Post story on Monday alleged that Rose, 75, made unwanted sexual advances toward eight women. They alleged he made lewd phone calls, walked around nude, or groped their breasts, buttocks or genital areas.

The Post article said the alleged incidents reportedly occurred from the late 1990s to 2011 and involved women who were employees or sought to work for Rose.

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CBS This Morning anchors Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell opened Tuesday’s show with some choice words for their former co-host Charlie Rose
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CBS News has since announced it is firing Rose, and PBS said it is halting distribution of his show.

Rose was honored in October 2015 at the Cronkite Award Luncheon, the largest annual fundraiser for ASU's journalism program.

In 2015, there was debate in some journalism circles about whether ASU should revoke Brian Williams' 2009 excellence award after the then-NBC Nightly News anchor and managing editor exaggerated his part in a helicopter episode in Iraq and the network suspended him for six months without pay.

Williams' award was not revoked.

Williams is a chief anchor on MSNBC and host of "The 11th Hour with Brian Williams."

Rose issued a statement on Twitter on Monday, apologizing for what he called inappropriate behavior and saying he behaved insensitively at times. He also said he does not believe that all of the allegations are accurate.

Callahan said he doesn't believe that additional vetting will need to be added to award considerations in the wake of the allegations against Rose.

"These are by definition high-profile people. I don’t see a need for that and can’t imagine that would reveal something. The award is to honor a great journalist and to celebrate journalism, so it’s the body of work, it’s the person, it’s everything."

Other institutions recently have found themselves in similar situations.

Harvard University in October revoked the 2014 Du Bois Medal given to embattled movie executive Harvey Weinstein after numerous women made allegations of sexual assault and harassment. The award honors contributions to African and African-American culture.